Party System and Political Struggle in Tunisia. Cleavages and Electoral Competition after the Transition to Democracy

The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, there is an attempt to provide a detailed description of the political manifestos of the new parties, which have emerged in Tunisia since the breakdown of the authoritarian regime and the establishment of democracy. The array of policies dealt with by the party manifestos is surprisingly wide and the secular-confessional dimension is present together with others. Secondly, the structuring of the party cleavages is addressed. It is argued that it could be hardly reduced to the classic cleavage theory formulated by Lipset and Rokkan. The re-alignment of the Tunisian party system has taken the form of two opposing coalitions although deep regional and socio-economic cleavages have not helped political integration. Three regions are identified in terms of political continuity and socio-economic development, Sahel and Tunis, the South (Sfax and Kairouan), finally the Western underdeveloped areas at the border with Algeria. The current development of the Tunisian party system is described, referring to its dynamics and the general perspective of the democratization process.